It Won't Be Soon Before Long
It Won't Be Soon Before Long ( stylized as It Won't Be Soon Before Long.) is the second studio album by the American pop rock band Maroon 5. It was released in May 2007 as the follow-up to their debut album Songs About Jane (2002). The name was inspired by a phrase the band adopted to keep themselves motivated while on their tour. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling around 430,000 copies in its first week and, as of 2011, approximately 5 million copies worldwide. It is the first Maroon 5 studio release to feature drummer Matt Flynn. The band's former drummer, percussionist and background vocalist, Ryan Dusick, who officially left Maroon 5 in 2006 due to serious wrist and shoulder injuries, was credited as the "Musical Director." Background It Won't Be Soon Before Long has 12 songs, plus 6 bonus tracks. The band stated in interviews that the album has a different feel to it from their 2002 debut album Songs About Jane. The songs are not all based on one specific relationship, as in Jane, and also have a different sound than their first album, being more electric and drawing inspiration from such artists as Talking Heads, Michael Jackson and Prince. A review written prior to the album's release described the songs as having a very retro feel. Adam Levine explained that this record is a little more self-confident and powerful lyrically: "...you can dance to it, there's a little more attitude." According to Levine, working with other artists had influences on the album: "Kanye West and Alicia Keys are amazing talents, in totally different ways. Just seeing such amazing people working in the studio. I definitely took things away from them." The chorus of "Nothing Lasts Forever" is the same as the one used in the Kanye West single "Heard 'Em Say", which features Adam Levine, with exclusion to the line: "...the distance between us makes it so hard to stay..." The song has also featured in a trailer for the movie Definitely, Maybe. Critical reception Initial critical response to It Won't Be Soon Before Long was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 66, based on 14 reviews. Allmusic rated the album 4.5 stars out of 5, commenting that the production of the album "is so immaculate that it glistens." Billboard rated it 4.5 stars. This album was #32 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007. Promotion Singles "Makes Me Wonder" was released as the lead single from the album on March 27, 2007. "Won't Go Home Without You" was released as the second single on November 19, 2007. "If I Never See Your Face Again" was re-recorded to feature singer Rihanna, and released digitally on May 2, 2008 as the fourth single to promote the June 2008 re-issue of the album, impacting mainstream radio stations on May 15, 2008. The music video for the fifth and final single, "Goodnight Goodnight", was released on August 21, 2008. On November 3, 2008, the single was released in Brazil. Despite not officially being released as a single, "Nothing Lasts Forever" managed to chart at number 23 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, which is equivalent to #123 on the Billboard Hot 100. Performances * Maroon 5 performed a small six-date club tour in June. They hit small venues in Boston (May 30), San Francisco (June 1), Los Angeles (June 2), Minneapolis (June 7), Miami (June 9) and New York (June 11). *March 31 - Maroon 5 introduced their first single "Makes Me Wonder" at the 2007 Kids' Choice Awards where they performed it live, although edited for younger audiences. *May 16 – Maroon 5 performed on American Idol Semi-finals Result Show. *May 18 – Maroon 5 performed at the Nassau Coliseum. *May 19 – Maroon 5 performed on Saturday Night Live. They performed "Makes Me Wonder" and "Won't Go Home Without You". *May 21 – Maroon 5 performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. They performed their lead single "Makes Me Wonder" and "This Love". *May 23 – Maroon 5 performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show with Ellen. They performed their lead single "Makes Me Wonder". Then, Ellen interviewed Adam Levine. *May 29 – Maroon 5 performed on TRL. They performed "Makes Me Wonder" and "Won't Go Home Without You". *June 12 – Maroon 5 performed on the Late Show with David Letterman. They performed "Makes Me Wonder". They were the musical guests, which means no interview. *July 1 – Maroon 5 performed on the Australian show Rove Live, as a musical guest. They performed "Makes Me Wonder". No interview with the band was made. Track listing All songs written and composed by Adam Levine, except where noted. Korean/Australian Limited Deluxe Edition Reissue It Won't Be Soon Before Long was reissued in expanded form on June 29, 2008 in Australia and July 8, 2008 for the rest of the world via A&M/Octone. The package included a bonus DVD with four music videos and a full concert recorded on June 13, 2007 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The reissue contained the original 12 tracks plus five B-sides: "Infatuation", "Miss You Love You", "Until You're Over Me", "Story" and "Losing My Mind". Also added onto the track list is "If I Never See Your Face Again", Maroon 5's then-newest single featuring Rihanna. The Australian and UK versions included one more track, a remix of "Wake Up Call" by Mark Ronson featuring Mary J. Blige. In Australia, the CD was only available as the "Special Edition", and the DVD was not included as the Limited Edition featured a DVD. The UK version also does not include the DVD. CD * Standard 12 tracks DVD Special version Credits and personnel Maroon 5 *Adam Levine – lead and backing vocals, guitar *Jesse Carmichael – keyboards, piano, backing vocals *Mickey Madden – bass guitar *James Valentine – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals *Matt Flynn – drums, percussion Others *Ryan Dusick – musical director *David Campbell – strings, horns (arrangement and conducting) *Mike Elizondo – additional piano, bass, keyboards *Lenny Castro – percussion *Bill Reichenbach – horns *Daniel Higgins – horns *Gary Grant – horns *Jerry Hey – horns *Rashida Jones – additional vocals *Adam MacDougall – additional keyboards *Matt Teal – additional keyboards *Mark Endert – additional keyboards, mixing, arranging *Rihanna – vocals Release history Reissue Category:Albums Category:Studio albums